Cooper Land (born November 10, 1988) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who is most known for his time spent in the

State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

(SBL) with the

Rockingham Flames Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrat ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

before playing professionally in Norway, Germany, Australia and Japan.

High school career

Land attended

Marcus High School Edward S. Marcus High School is a public high school in Flower Mound, Texas. It is a part of the Lewisville Independent School District. Academics Marcus High School was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Educat ...

Flower Mound, Texas Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound locate ...

. As a junior in 2005–06, he averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game in helping his team finish with a 20–10 record. As a senior in 2006–07, he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game, as his team finished with a 29–7 record and made it to the state's Sweet 16.

College career

Land played four years of

for Wright State between 2007 and 2011. In 33 games as a freshman in 2007–08, he averaged 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game. In 33 games as a sophomore in 2008–09, he averaged 4.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game. His junior and senior seasons were both interrupted by injury: on February 8, 2010, he tore his ACL in practice and subsequently missed the rest of the 2009–10 season; and in February 2011, he missed time due to another knee injury. In 24 games as a junior, he averaged 5.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 16.6 minutes, and in 26 games as a senior, he averaged 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 25.7 minutes. On December 30, 2010, he scored a career-high 21 points against

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Professional career

Norway and Germany (2011–2012)

In August 2011, Land signed his first professional contract, moving to Norway to play for

Asker Aliens Asker Aliens B.C. is a professional basketball club from Asker, Norway. The club plays in the BLNO, the top tier basketball league in Norway. Honours *BLNO Basketligaen Norge, better known as BLNO is Norway's premier professional men's basketball ...

. He helped Asker reach the

BLNO Basketligaen Norge, better known as BLNO is Norway's premier professional men's basketball league. It was established in 2000. The competition is organised by the Norwegian Basketball Federation (NBBF). Clubs Former clubs Finals Awards Most ...

final, where they lost 80–78 to Frøya Basket despite a 15-point effort from Land. He subsequently earned All-BLNO First Team honors. In 23 games for Asker during the 2011–12 season, he averaged 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In July 2012, Land signed with the German team

VfL Kirchheim Knights VfL Kirchheim Knights is a professional basketball club based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. The team plays in the ProA Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for nati ...

for the 2012–13 season. On December 27, 2012, he parted ways with Kirchheim after he had a number of poor performances that were linked to a recurring knee injury. In 15 games, he averaged 10.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Australia and Japan (2013–2016)

After his stint in Germany, Land moved to Australia to play for the

in the

. He scored 30 points or more in nine games, including a season-high 42 points. In 24 games in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Land returned to the Flames for the 2014 season and scored 40 points or more in five games, including a career-high 46 points. He subsequently earned SBL MVP honors. In 27 games, he averaged 29.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. In August 2014, Land signed with

Rizing Fukuoka The Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka are a Japanese basketball team, playing in the second division of the B.League. They are based in Fukuoka Prefecture and were coached by Joe Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant, in 2015. Roster Notable p ...

of the Japanese

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

. He left the team in December 2014. In 18 games, he averaged 8.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. After leaving Japan, Land returned to Rockingham for the 2015 season. He scored 30 points or more seven times, including a season-high 45 points. In 27 games, he averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Land returned to the Flames in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

for a fourth season. He scored 30 points or more 12 times, including a season-high 45 points. He subsequently earned SBL MVP honors for the second time in three years. In 27 games, he averaged 28.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Coaching career

Land served as Assistant Coach at NAIA Division II's University of St. Francis in 2013–14 and Associate head coach in 2015–16 between playing overseas. In his final season at St. Francis, the Fighting Saints recorded a 28–4 record and No. 1 ranking in NAIA Division II final regular season poll while winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title. Land spent 2016–17 as a volunteer assistant at

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC ...

as the Hilltoppers tallied a 17–15 record while finishing sixth in the conference with a 9–9 league record. At SEU, Land led the development of post players while assisting with film breakdown and game preparation along with scouting and recruiting. In June 2017,

Rogers State Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Bartlesville and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through ...

men's basketball head coach Justin Barkley announced the hiring of Land as assistant coach. In 2018, Land became the St. Michael's Catholic Academy basketball coach. He was still in the role as of January 2023.

Personal

Land is the son of Bill and Gayle Land. His father is the play-by-play voice for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. His brother, Taylor, is also a basketball player. In 2012 and 2013, Taylor played for the

Mandurah Magic Mandurah Magic is an NBL1 West club based in Mandurah, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Mandurah Basketball Association (MBA), the major administrative basketball organi ...

, the

' number one rival. In 2014, Taylor joined Cooper at the Rockingham Flames and the pair played alongside each other for three straight seasons. Land is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. In the summer of 2012, he traveled to Israel with ''Athletes in Action'', a Christian organization with the goal to build spiritual movements through sport. He visited over 40 biblical sights and participated in a tournament in Palestine.

References

External links

WSU Raiders profileESPN profile"Lands Down Under"
at nba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Land, Cooper 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Norway American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Centers (basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka players VfL Kirchheim Knights players Wright State Raiders men's basketball players Edward S. Marcus High School alumni